Chicago - Frustrated by the news of the Syrian humanitarian crisis, Liza Hoover, a paediatric nurse from Seabrook Island, South Carolina, wanted to use her medical training to make a difference. After making a few phone calls she stumbled upon the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) and spent most of January volunteering at a field hospital in Northwest Syria. The experience was so fulfilling that she is going back next week.

Notre Dame, Indiana – At a press conference in Kabul on 11 March 2013, Afghan President Hamid Karzai charged that the United States was working with the Taliban to undermine his government and keep Afghanistan unstable in order to justify maintaining troops in the country. The accusation angered Washington and was promptly dismissed. Yet Afghan officials and civil society leaders are increasingly frustrated by US actions that harm civilians and undermine Afghan sovereignty.

Sana’a - While counterterrorism efforts in Yemen generally fall within the domain of the Yemeni security forces, Yemeni youth have also joined in the challenge to uproot terrorism in a peaceful and effective manner. Since last December, a group of young Yemenis has been waging a campaign in schools against terrorism through an organisation called Youth Creativity. The campaign aims to deepen national allegiance and spread a culture of tolerance and coexistence throughout the country.

Islamabad, Pakistan - Shortly after a bomb went off in Dera Ismael Khan, a city in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on 23 November killing seven people, Hasan Zaidi desperately attempted to call home from Rawalpindi to check on his family’s safety. It was the first month of the Islamic calendar, Muharram, when Muslims, especially Shia Muslims, mourn the martyrdom of the Prophet Mohammad’s grandson Hussein through public processions and assemblies.

Jerusalem - Ten days ago the impossible become reality. While the world was watching Palestinians and Israelis trading fire and hatred through every possible means, there was a rare moment of cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians who shared a mutual desire to put an end to the violence.

In the midst of the missiles, bombs and devastation that took place in Gaza and the south of Israel, a group of Palestinians and Israelis came together in the Palestinian town of Beit Jalla, near Bethlehem, for a joint march to demand a bilateral ceasefire.

Washington, DC - Less than two years after the Pakistani military drew down its counter-insurgency operations in the picturesque Swat valley, Pakistan’s frontier region is once again being rocked by suicide attacks and targeted killings. While the country may appear to be locked in an entrenched conflict, Pakistan’s civil society could hold the key for a sustainable, peaceful future.

Jerusalem - For the past few years, thousands of non-Jewish Africans have enacted a modern-day Exodus out of Egypt, making their way from their countries of origin to the “Promised Land” in the hope of finding a home – temporarily at least – in Israel, a country which defines itself as a haven for Jewish refugees.

Cairo - One of the iconic images of Egypt’s revolution was that of men and women standing together, united for positive change. But since then, women have struggled with sexual harassment and been side-lined in the political transition. Egyptian women, however, have never stopped fighting – and today they are finding many new allies.

Notre Dame, Indiana - The Obama administration is under mounting pressure to accelerate the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. The US-led coalition plans to hand over security responsibility to Afghan forces by 2014. The military withdrawal shouldn’t mean that the international community walks away from Afghanistan entirely, however, or ceases support to local civil society –especially when it comes to preserving the hard-won rights of Afghan women. How is this possible?

Jerusalem - Just days after long-time Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiators Yitzhak Molcho and Saeb Erekat clashed yet again at a meeting in Jordan, thousands of young people from across the Middle East gathered together online for an event which set a new standard for mutual understanding and partnership.

Ramallah, West Bank - A Facebook page with nearly 2000 members has recently attracted the attention of the Palestinian public and media. “Puzzled young women” is becoming an important arena in the debate on women’s rights in the Palestinian territories, a debate which previously lacked one essential element: dialogue with proponents of a more traditional role for women.

London - In the presidential palace in Sana’a, a new Yemeni cabinet has just been sworn in. For the first time in 33 years, however, President Ali Abdullah Saleh is nowhere to be seen. He has officially signed away his powers, setting up a potentially peaceful transfer of power to his deputy, Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Indeed, it was Hadi who was present at the swearing in ceremony, exercising the ceremonial powers of a president.

Boston, Massachusetts – What do Asmaa Mahfouz, Munira Fakhro and Tawakul Karman all have in common?

They are all strong, capable women defying the popular Western image of the oppressed, repressed, suppressed Muslim woman hidden behind a black chador or blue burqa, helplessly waiting for Western liberation.

West Bank/Jaffa - On an otherwise serene Saturday morning in late March, in the southern Hebron Hills, over 30 activists – mostly Jews – non-violently confronted a platoon of Israeli soldiers guarding the hilltop settlement of Ma'on. In an act of solidarity and civil disobedience protesting discriminatory policies often used to deny Palestinians access to their lands, 16 members of the group were arrested by the army.